Places in Time

LAKE WACO TIMELINE

1925:

Waco exhausts wells and pumps the Brazos River dry during drought. Waco Water Commission proposes a dam on the Bosque River .

1926:

Controversy mounts over dam proposal; Panama Canal builder Gen. George Goethals agrees to inspect dam site. Waco voters narrowly approve $3.5 million bond issue.

1930:

Dam completed; lake fills quickly.

1936:

Record flood swamps Waco , prompting federal flood control study of the Brazos watershed.

1938:

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recommends a bigger dam at Lake Waco , as well as Whitney, Belton and other dams.

1946:

Dam nearly washes away when brush jams a sediment gate. More than $1 million is required in repairs.

1954:

Congress approves Lake Waco dam but gives only $100,000 for study.

1957:

After record drought, Waco floods again; Congress stalls funding; BRA and city offer seed money to jumpstart the project.

1958:

Congress appropriates $1 million for Lake Waco construction; Sen. Lyndon Johnson is guest at groundbreaking.

1961:

Eastern face of dam collapses after weight causes subsoil to shift; sets back project a year and more than $7 million.

1965:

Dam completed for $53.6 million; fills quickly and tops normal level by 12 feet.

1979:

City authorizes study for raising Lake Waco .

1984:

Army Corps of Engineers signs contract to raise lake by seven feet.

1998:

Waco City Council formally approves lake rise project.

2003:

In September, impoundment of new water begins; October rains quickly bring the lake close to its new level of 462 feet above sea level.

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